What is the hype about research impact evaluation?
A comparative study of “impact culture” in the UK, Poland and Norway
Date: 4 February 2026
Format: Online webinar (Zoom)
Host: Mälardalen University
Academic institutions around the world are facing growing expectations to demonstrate that their research delivers benefits beyond academia and contributes to society, policy, and practice. Research is no longer evaluated solely on the basis of scholarly publications; instead, increasing attention is paid to whether academic work generates observable and meaningful impact outside the university.
One of the most influential responses to this shift has been the UK’s Research Excellence Framework (REF) and its Impact Agenda, introduced in 2014. The REF established a qualitative approach to evaluating research impact through a new academic genre: the impact case study. Since then, several national evaluation systems have drawn inspiration from the British model, including Norway (through initiatives such as Humeval and Sameval, starting in 2015) and Poland (with the introduction of the EJDN framework in 2021).
The rise of research impact as a core component of academic excellence has brought significant changes to how academic work is conceived, organised, and supported. These changes affect not only evaluation procedures, but also academic discourse, professional identities, and institutional practices.
About the webinar
In this webinar, Dr Marta Natalia Wróblewska offers a panoramic overview of the evolution of research impact evaluation in the UK, Norway, and Poland. Drawing on comparative research, the talk explores how impact has become embedded in national evaluation systems and what this means for academic culture.
The presentation focuses on two key areas:
- Academic discourse, with particular attention to impact case studies as a new genre of scholarly communication.
- Impact support structures, including the emergence of impact professional services as a distinct area of institutional support.
Together with broader policy and organisational developments, these trends are discussed as indicators of an ongoing transformation in the academic profession.
A practical element of the session will be the introduction of the SMAUG model – a clear and robust structure for writing about research impact, designed to support researchers preparing impact-related documentation.
Speaker
Dr Marta Natalia Wróblewska
Assistant Professor, Institute of Humanities, SWPS University, Warsaw
Dr Wróblewska is a linguist and philosopher specialising in research evaluation, with a particular focus on research impact and its measurement. Her work examines academic discourse and the ways in which changes in evaluation criteria influence scholarly communication and academic identity. Her broader research interests include science studies and applied linguistics.
She is the lead investigator of the National Science Centre–funded project “Evaluation of societal impact and academic discourse – a comparative approach (Poland, UK, Norway)” (2023–2025). In this webinar, she presents an overview of approaches to impact evaluation, their historical development, key challenges, and selected findings from this project.
In addition to her academic work, Dr Wróblewska acts as an “impact ninja,” advising Polish universities and funding bodies on preparing for national research evaluations.
Selected publications
- Research impact evaluation and academic discourse (Humanities & Social Sciences Communications, 2021)
- The making of the “Impact Agenda”: changes in academic discourse (Educational Studies Review, 2023)
- Comparative analyses of impact frameworks in the UK, Norway, and Poland
Registration
The webinar will take place online via Zoom.
Join the webinar: https://mdu-se.zoom.us/j/65001141900
This event inaugurates the PANORAMIC OUTLOOK Webinar Series for 2026, with further webinars planned later in the year.